Seleucus IV Philopator

Seleucus IV Philopator succeeded his father Antiochus III and spent most of his reign (187–175 bc) attempting to pay off his father’s debt to the Romans. During the reign of Seleucus IV, Onias III served as the high priest in Jerusalem but found himself in a dispute with Simon the Benjaminite over the Jerusalem markets. Simon informed Apollonius, a financial minister of Seleucus IV, that the Jerusalem temple had a surplus of money, so Seleucus IV sent another minister, Heliodorus, to retrieve it. Onias III strongly disapproved of Simon’s submission to the Seleucids, but lost the dispute to Simon and fled to Antioch. When he returned, Heliodorus murdered Seleucus IV, and the king’s brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes seized control of the empire soon after.